How to Retire

Requirements
Your department may have varying requirements on the amount of notice to be given, and may give bonuses for early notice. Establish a date that works for you and for your department head and give the appropriate amount of notice.

You should plan to file your retirement application 30 to 60 days prior to retirement. You can amend this application up until we finalize your retirement benefits. You can come to the retirement office to complete these forms, and we will help you through them. You are encouraged to bring your spouse with you. Or you can begin the process by downloading and completing the forms.

Once you have thought through your options, the process is fairly simple, and will take less than an hour.

Choose one of the three sections (A, B or C) and complete it. You can draw a line through the two sections you do not want.

For option B, name your beneficiary. You can name multiple beneficiaries by providing the percent given to each (example: name 4 children and provide 25% to each one).

For option C, you can name only one beneficiary.

Information Collection
We must have social security numbers for all beneficiaries. You may need to supply birth certificates and marriage certificates. In most cases, we have already asked you to supply these at the time you joined the system. f the beneficiary’s address is different from yours, please provide it.

Sign the section you have chosen, but do so in the presence of a witness. The witness should be a disinterested party (e.g. not a potential beneficiary). If you are married, your spouse must sign that he/she has read the form and understands the option that you have chosen.

Federal Withholding
You will also be asked to complete a federal W4P withholding form. If you have no other income, we can help you determine how much tax to withhold. If you have a more complicated income, you may wish to ask your tax advisor about how much to withhold.

There is no state tax on a public retirement allowance. Consult with the human resources department on your health insurance and life insurance options. Once you have decided on your benefit options, Human Resources will tell us what to withhold from your check.

Direct Deposit
Your retirement check can be direct deposited. Complete the Direct Deposit Form and bring us a voided check.